"I am doubtful of the immediate rebirth in the Pure Land of anyone who engages in scholarly pursuits while mistakenly attached to thoughts of wealth and fame."At present, followers of the exclusive practice of the Name and adherents to the path of sages are engaged in disputes about doctrine, each holding that his own is superior and that of his opponent inferior. Thus adversaries of the teaching arise and calumny against the Dharma is committed. Does not this amount to reviling one's own teaching?
"As the Buddha foretold, some would trust in this teaching, while others would revile it. Since I already have faith in it, whereas others find fault with it, I know that what the Buddha said is true. Because of this, we should feel confident that our rebirth is all the more certain. If, by chance, no one happened to speak ill of the teaching, we might wonder why, when there are those with faith, there are no fault-finders. I do not wish to say that the doctrine must necessarily be reviled, but simply that the Buddha, foreseeing that there would be scoffers as well as faithful, warned his followers not to harbor doubts."Nowadays some appear to study only in preparation to engage in disputes and controversies and to counter the calumny of others. But the more one studies the more one should realize the true intention of the Buddha and become aware of the infinitude of his compassionate vow as well. Only he is worthy of the name of scholar who explains to those in doubt that, as poorly gifted people, they can attain rebirth, and that the Original Vow makes no distinction between good and evil, pure and impure. Anyone who asserts that study is necessary, intimidating even those in whom the Name is called selflessly in accord with the Vow, is a diabolical obstruction to the Dharma and an adversary of the Buddha. Not only does such a person lack faith in the other-power, but he is also sure to lead others into error. We should be particularly cautious about acting against the intentions of our late Master. At the same time such opponents are to be pitied for not being in accord with Amida's Original Vow.
"Even a defilement as minute as a speck of dust on the tip of one hair of rabbit's fur or sheep's wool could not come about without karmic causes in the past."On another occasion the Master asked me:
"Yuienbo, do you have complete trust in whatever I say to you?"
"Yes, I have," I answered.
"If so, will you obey me in whatever I ask you to do?"
To this I respectfully gave my assent.
"For example, the Master continued, "Will you kill one thousand people? If so, you will be assured of rebirth."
"With all due respect to your words," I replied, "I do not feel capable at present of killing even one person."
" If so," Shinran asked, "Why did you just now promise that you would not disobey me?" and then continued: "From this you should learn that, if you could do anything you wished, then should you be told to kill a thousand people so as to attain rebirth, you could commit murder. But since there is no karmic cause within you to murder even one person, you simply cannot kill; it is not because you have good intentions. Even though you had no intention to kill others, it could come about that you might murder a hundred or even a thousand people. This teaches us that, because we falsely assume that we gain rebirth when our intentions are good but do not when they are bad, we fail to realize that we are delivered solely by the miraculous power of the Original Vow."There was once a man who had become attached to a false idea. He taught that because of the all-embracing vow to deliver evildoers, one should deliberately commit evil deeds as a means of attaining rebirth. When news of his various misdemeanors reached the ears of Shinran Shonin, he admonished his followers in a letter with these words:
"Just because you possess the antidote, do not become addicted to the poison."With this saying he meant to put an end to such perverse attachments; he did not at all mean that evil deeds could obstruct rebirth.
"This holds true for those who gain their livelihood by casting nets in the sea or fishing by the river, those who hunt birds and beasts in the mountains and fields, and those who trade or till the soil."Shinran Shonin remarked that
"When karmic conditions are opportune, we are capable of committing any evil! and yet at present there are some who assume a pious air of seeking the afterlife, as though only good people were entitled to call the Name; and they post up notices in halls of worship prohibiting admission to those who have transgressed. Are not such people only pretending outwardly to be wise and zealous, while inwardly remaining false and deceitful?Our faith in the other-power is confirmed all the more because our hearts feel overconfident in their reliance on the Original Vow. It might possibly be better for us if we could have faith in the Original Vow after we have rid ourselves of evil karma and defilements, because then we would not need to have any overreliance on it. But if we were able to rid ourselves of all defilements, we would already be buddhas, for whom the Vow fulfilled by five kalpas of contemplation would not be needed. Those who admonish others not to be overreliant on the Original Vow nonetheless themselves appear to be filled with defilements and impurities. Are they not also placing too much reliance on the Vow? Just what kinds of evil are meant by "having too much reliance on the Vow" and "not having too much reliance on it"? After all, is not this a shallow argument?
"Even those evil deeds committed because of overconfidence in the Vow are caused by past karma. That being so, if we leave all deeds, good and bad alike, to karma and place our sole reliance on the Original Vow, we are really in conformity with the other-power. Bear in mind that the Tract on Faith Alone warns us: How can we consider ourselves too debased to be reclaimed, when we cannot measure the magnitude of Amida's power?"
In that instant when faith as hard as diamond is established, the lightThe meaning of this hymn is that, because at the moment when faith is established we are embraced once and for all and never after forsaken, we shall never again wander through the six realms of existence. This is why we are said to be “separated forever from birth and death.” Why should this be misunderstood as “attaining enlightenment”? How regrettable! Shinran Shōnin said: “I learned from my master that in the Pure Land teaching one has faith in the Original Vow during this life and that one attains enlightenment in the Pure Land.”
of Amida’s heart enfolds us in its protection and we are forever separated
from birth and death.
"It would be absurd if I were to claim that I was Honen s equal in wisdom and learning, for his are vast; but regarding our faith in rebirth, there is no difference at all, for his faith and mine are one and the same."As they were still in doubt, there was nothing left but to submit the question to Master Honen for his decision. When the matter was explained to him, Honen said:
"My faith was conferred by the Buddha and so was Zenshin's; therefore they are one. Those who hold a separate faith are the least likely to be reborn in the same Pure Land as I, Genku."From this I deduce that even now among followers who seem singleheartedly and exclusively devoted to the nenbutsu, there are some whose faith is not at one with Shinran's.
"When I reflect deeply on the Vow that Amida fulfilled after five kalpas of contemplation, I find that it was for me, Shinran, alone! How compassionate, therefore, is the Original Vow of Amida, who was moved to free me from so many karmic defilements!"Reflecting again on the Master s words, I find them little different from Shandao's golden saying:
"We should realize that in truth we are ordinary unenlightened beings involved in birth and death, who from the remotest past up to the present time have been forever floundering in samsara, and that we have no way of freeing ourselves."And so, by giving himself as an example, the Master's words were meant to awaken us to our twofold ignorance: we are deluded as to the depth of our transgressions and unaware of the breadth of Amida's beneficence. For others as well as myself speak only of good and evil without heeding the beneficence of Amida. As Shinran said:
"I am completely ignorant of good and evil. If I could know what good was as totally as Amida does, then I could claim to know good; and if I knew evil as totally as Amida does, then I could claim to know evil. But I must confess that we are all ordinary beings beset by defiling passions and that everything in our world is as transient as a burning house. All things are illusory and delusive and have no truth in them. The nenbutsu alone is true."Indeed, I myself as well as others speak only of idle things, of which the most regrettable is that when we discuss among ourselves or explain to others the meaning of faith, some impute to the Master words that he did not utter, merely to silence their opponents and put an end to the discussion. This is most deplorable, and we should be careful to discriminate in this regard.